Who did Iverson and Kidd lose to?

Fine, you want to draft someone to get your team to second place, go for it : )

well as you said Shaq was on that TEAM but there was this little fella named kobe there that might have helped too .....oh yeah and big shot BOB saved SHAQS ass one yr I do believe ........

NO CENTER EVER HAS DONE IT WITHOUT ADDITIONAL SKILLED PLAYERS .

Guards have, and fowards have ....NEVER A CENTER

and like I say, sure a DOMINANT center is a strong draft.... but a mediocre rebounder and defensive player with virtually NO offense is a waste of a draft pick UNLESS you have other skilled position players around to do the scoring ( which portland does not) This particular pick was a bad draft for them and that is the only point I am making here .

do you care to bet a hundred on the fact that the Blazers will not even make the playoffs this year? I got a hundred says they won't !

The NBA measures players with their shoes on so guys are always listed at least 2 inches taller. As an example I met Jason Richardson at Loft 11 a few summers ago and I was taller than him by a good inch and he's listed at 6'6, Im 6'3.

The bottom line regarding Oden is that he wasnt going to contribute right away. He's a project, it was going to take him a good 3-4 years before the injury. Now we'll have to wait and see how his recovery goes.

In todays game athletic wing players are a dime a dozen, it's a small mans game now. This makes a big man that much more valuble, you always go big. Its like football teams alway taking a quarter back. Big men are easier to build around because of the abundance of wings in the NBA.

I remember watching a draft preview where they showed the workout all these guys were put through. Oden scored the highest of any player in the draft. At one point they showed the players being drilled on dribbling and Oden was the fastest player from end to end dribbling a ball in each hand. Thats impresive considering he was going up against mostly guards. He also scored the highest of any player in the vertical jump, imagine a 7 footer out jumping a 6'6 athletic freak! Oden has that natural ability, he has all the tools. They just need to be developed.

They may measure with their shoes on but I've never heard of any shoes with a 3 inch sole. Teams stad the pats of their players, for matchup purposes...not sure it even really works with anybody other than rookies though. Marcus Banks is listed at 6'2" and I saw him down at the gym where I play and he is lucky if he is 5'10"...I'm 6'2". I would have to assume that they do the same with their weight as well, it would only make sense.

Oden, from what I've seen will need a lot of work to become an All-Star in the NBA. He can block shots, I'm not sure about his post D and his O is suspect.

No guard has either Joe. Not even Jordan. Swoosh that.

And why would I bet on Portland when they lost their center for the year? And why would anyone bet on a rookie center?

Oh Thank God.

Every NBA GM in the league would back this post up.

Yeh, when Barkley was at Auburn they listed him at 6'6 and 6'7. When he hit the NBA, he was 6'4. lol ...

that's about it.

9 out of 10 fans will take a guard.

10 out of 10 GM's will take a center.

It's just business at the end of the day.

Umm Jordan was a guard, and Kidd was a guard, and Nash is a guard, and Iverson is a guard ........

again a big dominant center GREAT choice.... Oden mediocre at best and Durant a much better choice !

I don't think that's true, GM's would draft guards if they are the best players in the draft and they will use them as trade bait to get what they want. A big is not always the best draft choice, just like in Oden's case he could turn out to be a bust.